The genocide lasted decades. Historians said that
the world had never seen murder and destruction on such a massive scale.
Millions died and those left alive often longed for death. People openly
wondered whether the light of Islam would be forever extinguished. But the
course of history changed through some of God's most unassuming servants.

In the thirteenth century a tidal wave of
devastation swept over the Muslim world. City after city, region after region
disintegrated amidst a storm of iron and fire. The death toll was incredible.

Nishapur 1,747,000 dead

Baghdad 1,600,000 dead

Herat 1,600,000 dead

Samarkand 950,000 dead

Merv 700,000 dead

Aleppo 50,000 dead

Balkh completely destroyed

Khiva completely destroyed

Harran completely destroyed

Baghdad was often described as the jewel of the
world. For six long weeks this jewel cracked and shattered under the ferocious
might of the Tartar hordes. The rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates ran red with
blood. Women who had observed modest and chaste lives were savagely assaulted
and raped. Five centuries of knowledge accumulated from every literate
civilization and contained in the world's largest libraries was reduced to
ashes. Many of humanity's greatest centers of education, commerce and culture
became nothing more than killing fields.

The architect of this colossal avalanche of death
was Genghis Khan. His barbaric legions were triggered into a forty year
bloodlust through the folly of the Muslim ruler, Muhammad Khwarizm Shah. Once a
powerful and mighty monarch, Khwarizm Shah ordered the execution of Mongol
caravans that came to trade within his kingdom. When Genghis Khan sent a
delegation of envoys to lodge a formal protest, Khwarizm Shah executed most of
them. These two inhuman acts were avenged at the cost of millions of innocent
lives.

The Tartar Holocaust began in 1218 CE six
centuries after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It moved
westward from Mongolia across Central Asia and the Persian Gulf, southward
toward Delhi and northwest to Budapest and Moscow. People as far away as Sweden
shuddered at the thought of a Mongol invasion. Muslims were so over-awed by
their power that one Mongol could kill over a hundred Muslims and none would
dare defend himself. In Arabic a proverb sprang up which meant that if someone
tells you the Mongols have suffered a defeat don't believe him.

On the eve of the Mongol invasion, the spiritual
state of the Muslim world was pathetic. Corruption, disunity, and materialism
were rampant. Khwarizm Shah was not the only example of insufferable leadership.
The Abbasid Caliph, Al-Mustasim, was reportedly pleased to hear of the collapse
of Khwarizm Shah's empire because of his personal dislike for the monarch.
Before the Mongols reached Baghdad, the Caliph's advisors had convinced him to
seriously scale back the army. The city was in no way prepared to withstand what
lay in store for it.

And yet Islam did not die. Genghis Khan who
proclaimed himself as the Scourge of God, who delighted in the rape of conquered
women could not exterminate the Muslim ummah. Within a generation the tide had
begun to turn in Islam's favour. Baghdad was destroyed by Genghis' grandson
Halaku but his great grandson Berek became a Muslim. In fact, Berek withdrew his
forces from Halaku's army after the fall of Baghdad which contributed to the
first defeat the Mongols suffered against the Muslims during the battle of Ayn
Jalut in 1260. The aura of the Mongols' terrifying invincibility was broken.
Three years later Berek himself would defeat Halaku's forces in the Caucus
region. Those who tried to destroy Islam became its protectors.

The role that ordinary Muslims played in this
miraculous recovery cannot be ignored. The entire ummah owes a debt of gratitude
to those men and women who never forgot the centrality of their faith or the
importance of sharing it with others. Berek or Baraka Khan was introduced to
Islam by two unknown merchants. Their efforts eventually led Islam to reach
Russia and Eastern Europe.

If the Tartars are regarded as part of Islam's
universal brotherhood today, one can thank the efforts of unsung heroes like
Jamal Uddeen. The vast Mongol empire was divided amongst the various descendants
of Genghis. In certain parts of the empire, the Mongols regarded Muslims as no
better than animals while Christianity or Buddhism were expected to become the
official state religion. But the sincerity of ordinary believers like Jamal was
to outshine all else.

Jamal was a Persian who was travelling through the
Middle Kingdom or Chaghatay Khanate known for its animosity toward Muslims. With
his small band of travellers he mistakenly went through the game preserves of
the Mongol Prince Tuqluq. Jamal was arrested and brought before Tuqluq. In his
anger the prince told Jamal that a dog was worth more than a Persian. Jamal
replied, "Yes. If we did not have the true faith, we would indeed be worse than
dogs." Tuqluq was struck by the reply. He inquired what Jamal meant by the true
faith. When Jamal explained the message of Islam Tuqluq was convinced. He asked
Jamal for some time to unite the fractured Middle Kingdom and then he would
proclaim his faith. Jamal returned home and later fell ill. As he was dying, he
instructed his son Rasheed to remind the prince of his promise when he became
king. When Tuqluq ascended the throne Rasheed set out to meet him. An ordinary
person had little access to royalty and after many efforts Rasheed risked his
life to enact a plan. He called out the adhan at fajr nearby the royal compound.
He was brought before the king and there he invited him to fulfill his promise.
On that very morning Tuqluq Timur Khan, king of the unified Middle Kingdom,
became a Muslim.

Death and destruction are ravaging Baghdad once
more. The innocent victims of this injustice must not be forgotten. We owe it to
them to follow in the footsteps of the Last Prophet, in the footsteps of
ordinary believers like Jamal and Rasheed Uddeen and share Islam with each and
every human being. The beauty of our character and our sincere conduct need to
be the beacons that attract those around us to this Divinely prescribed system
of life. True it is Allah alone who guides; it is also true that Allah does not
change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.
For us to do anything less would be to disgrace those who are dying before our
very eyes.

Historical Sources:
- Saviours of the Islamic Spirit, Volume 1, by Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi
- History of Islam, Volume 2, by Masudul Hasan
- A Short History of the Saracens, by Amir Ali